The UK Met Office has issued a Yellow warning of thunderstorms from 4am to 11am on Saturday 19 July.
If you see a highway emergency, such as a fallen tree or significant flooding, please call 0345 606 6171.
Find out more about this weather warning for Suffolk, including how to prepare.
We have a commitment to meeting our duties as specified in the Equality Act 2010 which requires us to take a proactive approach to equalities and inclusion.
We also have a responsibility to ensure that organisations we commission, to provide services on our behalf, take the same positive approach to equality.
The Equality Act 2010 replaced previous legislation and created a single legal framework, providing clearer, streamlined law that is more effective at tackling disadvantage and discrimination. This Act protects individuals from unfair treatment and promotes a fair and more equal society.
The Act protects us from being treated less favourably because of certain characteristics. These are known as protected characteristics:
The Act provides a legal framework to protect the rights of individuals and advance equality of opportunity for all.
The Public Sector Equality Duty, which is set out in the Equality Act 2010, requires us to:
It describes fostering good relations as tackling prejudice and promoting understanding between people from different groups.
The Equality Act also says that public bodies must pay 'due regard' to equality. This means that we must:
The Act also states that meeting different needs involves taking steps to take account of disabled people’s disabilities.
It states that compliance with the duty may involve treating some people more favourably than others.
Undertaking Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs) on new and/or revised policies or services is an effective way of identifying any positive or negative impact that the change may have on different people, according to their protected characteristics. This enables us to demonstrate that we have paid 'due regard' in coming to our decisions.
The law does not mean that no changes can be made, even if they have a negative effect on people. However, we must demonstrate that we have considered the impact that could happen and what steps we have put in place to mitigate against any negative impacts.
Our EIAs are available on our Policies and Procedures database by searching for Equality Impact Assessments.
The Equality Act 2010 requires us to publish our equality information on an annual basis. This includes demonstrating to you how we are delivering against our corporate equality objectives. We reviewed our equality objectives in January 2022 and between now and 2026 we will:
You can read the Council’s EDI vision statement below:
SCC Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Statement
2022-2026
Suffolk County Council is committed to being an inclusive organisation, supporting everyone so that they can reach their full potential. We value the things that make us the same as well as the things that are different about us and we will promote a culture of inclusion, recognising and celebrating difference and acknowledging the benefits achieved by having a diverse workforce.Every individual recognises they have a responsibility to embed equality into everything we do, making our services and our places of work inclusive. We are committed to the principles of equality, diversity and inclusion and to delivering our duties under the Equality Act 2010 and our WE ASPIRE Values. We recognise that discrimination can occur and we will work together to eliminate it.We hold ourselves accountable for making positive change through commissioning and co-producing with communities in Suffolk, ensuring their voices are heard and valued. We are committed to undertaking activities and reporting progress that demonstrate how SCC is addressing the barriers to inclusivity, tackling inequality and promoting inclusion.
Our published equality reports provide information about the:
Download our equality reports:
Read about how we make the information on our website as accessible as possible.
Suffolk County Council use INTRAN to provide our translation and interpreting services.
We use interpreters or translate information where someone would be at risk if they are unable to understand English. In other situations we will do so where appropriate and in response to identified need.
Shelly Darwin, SCC Race Equality Lead:
shelly.darwin@suffolk.gov.uk